A person intitially learning to play the piano should be encouraged not to watch the keyboard when playing. Rather, he should be taught to learn the location of the various keys by touch, similar to the approach used in teaching typing. Once the individual becomes comfortable with his knowledge of the key locations, he will be able to focus virtually all his visual attention on reading the music.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,298,799, issued to McClintock, teaches one type of keyboard cover for obstructing a player's line of sight to at least a portion of the keyboard. This provides an artificial aid to force the learner to rely upon the touch system in locating keys, since he is unable to actually see the keys through the overlying cover. In the McClintock structure a shelf 14, formed of a bent piece of fiberboard, overlies the keys to obstruct the player's line of sight thereto. The shelf is held in position by bracket-like supports 18 which fit in the narrow gaps between the piano keys and rest on the substructure beneath the keys. Each of the supports 18 includes a notch 28 to provide clearance for the hands and fingers of the player. However, each of the bracket-like supports 18 can frictionally interfere with the operation of the piano key adjacent to it.